Raise your guard against identity thieves

Internet crime is not just about credit cards, anymore. A new and rapidly growing threat is online identity theft, which means that internet users’ identities are used illegally without the knowledge of the individual victims.

Identity theft (or impersonation fraud), whether on or offline, is the misuse of the identity (such as the name, date of birth, current address or previous addresses) of another person without their knowledge or consent. This is then used to obtain goods or services or transact other businesses.

Ways of stealing identity

There are numerous ways in which identities can be stolen, the most common of which are:

• Bin raiding: Unskilled fraudsters retrieve documents such as bank statements, utility bills or even junk mail that you have thrown away. The information obtained can be used to apply for credit in your name.,

• Phishing: Fraudulent e-mails pretending to be from your bank asking for your account details. Once obtained these details are used to operate accounts fraudulently.

• Skimming: Cloning of payment cards using devices bolted onto cash machines, or copied by unscrupulous individuals with access to credit/debit card, for example, staff in restaurants or petrol stations.

• Moving house: Mail still being delivered to your old address can be used to set-up finance agreements in your name.

• Social engineering: Inadvertent revealing personal information through lottery scams or cold calling.

Online identity theft

Whenever someone uses the internet, they use an online identity, usually involving passwords, whether that is an e-mail address, online bank account, online retail account or instant-message alias. Offline, stealing identities is often a piecemeal affair, as thieves gather small pieces of information and gradually create a persona.

The anonymity of the internet means that a criminal can trick users out of their personal details without knowledge of who they are really dealing with. By gathering information about individuals using the internet, such as their e-mail address, bank account and log-in details, criminal elements can become that person online and no one will know until it’s too late.

Criminals can also use technology to work on their behalf, by releasing a virus or sending a phishing e-mail, so they can hit millions of internet users very quickly and it doesn’t take a high rate of success for this to be a lucrative way to steal information. If the details have been taken for a specific bank account or service, for example, criminals can use the information to move money, open new bank or credit card accounts, take out loans or increase lines of credit or obtain mobile-phone service on the internet.

Often, the victim won’t realise until much later, because the criminals don’t use a home address for statements or may have changed the address online. They will also try to ensure that victims don’t receive any information relating to their hijacked account for as long as possible.

Preventing electronic ID theft

Electronic identity theft is rampant but there are some important steps that every consumer can take to safeguard their identity.

Change your passwords monthly: Do you bank online? Or store personal information on your laptop? If so, it would be wise to change your password at least once a month and try to select passwords that will not be obvious to potential hackers (birthday, anniversary, pet name, etc.).

Take control — freeze your credit: Experts agree the most important thing you can do to protect yourself from the most common types of identity fraud is to freeze your credit.

Beware phishing scams: Scam artists “phish” for victims by pretending to be banks, stores or government agencies. They do this over the phone, in e-mails and regular mail. Don’t give out your personal information, unless you made the contact. Don’t respond to a request to verify your account number or password. Legitimate companies do not request this kind of information in this way.

Protect your computer from spyware and viruses: Spyware programs can collect many different types of personal information about you like passwords and credit card numbers. Experts recommend using integrated firewall, virus and spyware protection software that you update regularly.

Remove document images from online public records: Often, criminals can find everything they need to steal your identity on government websites. The documents include real estate, tax and judicial records. You should contact your local officials and ask them to remove your documents immediately.

Erase data before getting rid of your computer: Your computer has traces of your personal information. Identity thieves target discarded computers to look for hard drive data that has not been erased. Most experts suggest that computer users need to securely and permanently erase data from a hard drive before selling or discarding old computers. You can do this by either physically destroying the drive or using a software utility to thoroughly overwrite all data.